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War brings profits to south Thailand
The visit of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to Thailand has reaffirmed
Malaysia's support for Thai counter-insurgency policies against Muslim rebels
in the southernmost provinces on the border with Malaysia. The insurgency there
will not end, though, as long as there is profit to be made, notably from human
trafficking and drug-smuggling. - Brian McCartan
(Dec 11, '09)
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Osama can run, how long can he hide?
First, the United States 
plans to roll back the Taliban's gains in Afghanistan, then capture or
eliminate Osama bin Laden, which in turn will lead to the "ultimate defeat of
al-Qaeda". The 30,000 additional troops going into Afghanistan might help in
the first objective. Thereafter, the task becomes ever so difficult. - Syed
Saleem Shahzad (Dec 11, '09)
Clear losers and winners in Baghdad
As much as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to shift the blame
following this week's multiple bomb attacks in Baghdad, apart from the tragic
death toll, he and his State of Law Coalition are the big losers as the
countdown begins to March elections. Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr can only
gain from Maliki's wavering. - Sami Moubayed (Dec
11, '09)
Diplomatic deja vu in Pyongyang
Stephen Bosworth, the US envoy on Korea, has returned from Pyongyang after
"candid" talks on resuming six-party meetings and a September 2005 deal in
which the North agreed to surrender its nuclear program in return for energy
and economic aid. However, the North has a poor record on abiding with
agreements and the US is unlikely to accept its fanciful conditions. - Donald
Kirk (Dec 11, '09)
Obama embraces realist-liberal
tradition
United States President Barack Obama used his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance
speech to enunciate a worldview that places him squarely within the realist
internationalist thinking that dominated post-World War II US foreign policy.
Analysts say the irony of him accepting the honor within days of ordering a
major war escalation drove him to give one of his better speeches. - Jim Lobe
(Dec 11, '09)
Shenzhen raises iron fist to protests
Shenzhen has been at the vanguard of China's economic reform over the past 30
years as a testing ground for policies later adopted nationwide. A recent
crackdown on protests belied the city's liberal characteristics and Beijing's
swift condemnation suggests it is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon. -
Stephanie Wang (Dec 11, '09)
If Tiger Woods had crashed in India
Had the Tiger Woods saga played out in India, it might not have become such a
global sensation. The police would have been the last to know about any car
crash, until they found out a rich man was involved. Indian tradition also
means Woods' wife would hold herself responsible for any affairs, likely
embarking on a grueling fast and temple pilgrimage to cleanse her sins. - Siddharth
Srivastava (Dec 11, '09)
Bernanke's golden heirloom
The rising price of gold is a market response to the US Federal Reserve's
exploding balance sheet and chairman Ben Bernanke's failure to stabilize the
economy. Come 2012, Fed credit could be measured in many trillions of dollars.
The gold price will continue to surge accordingly. - Hossein Askari and Noureddine
Krichene (Dec 10, '09)
India caught in a terror tangle
India has unveiled an ambitious counter-terrorism venture to pool data that
would then be accessible to 10 security agencies. Yet so bureaucratically dense
has the web of competing interests and responsibilities within the security
apparatus become, the initiative is likely to increase the likelihood of terror
attacks. Perhaps the United States wasn't the best example to follow. - Sreeram
Chaulia (Dec 10, '09)
China unveils its new worldview
Beijing has released a five-pronged foreign policy vision, signaling it is
ready to play a bigger part on the global stage. Most notable on the ambitious
agenda are the twin theories of "shared responsibility and enthusiastic
participation", which imply that China will acquit itself in a way that it
feels is commensurate with its quasi-superpower status. - Willy Lam
(Dec 10, '09)
China coughs, India sneezes
A pollution crackdown on Chinese factories has limited access by Indian
consumers and producers to Vitamin C supplements and their key raw materials.
New Delhi has done its own bit to maximize damage by maintaining price curbs
and imposing anti-dumping tariffs on those imports still available. - Priyanka
Bhardwaj (Dec 10, '09)
Monarchy re-enters Nepal's political
mix
Nepal's Maoists plan a 
return to power, but they will need to display the level of mass support that
brought them earlier electoral success. The visit to New Delhi of former king
Gyanendra - possibly to revive his political career - could therefore prove
timely, by giving the Maoists an opportunity to link the nation's disliked
former monarchy to a plot involving India.- Peter Lee
(Dec 10, '09)
Over Iran, enemies become friends
For very different reasons, neo-conservatives in the United States, the
opposition in Iran and much of the Iranian diaspora are pushing for regime - or
system - change in Iran. This has effectively forced Tehran to stall on
negotiations over its nuclear program, but in the longer term, it's a dangerous
game. - Grace Nasri (Dec 10, '09)
US surge plays into Taliban hands
The Barack Obama administration's new Afghan strategy leaves wide open the
Taliban's lifeline to further recruitment based on madrassa graduates.
Its withdrawal deadline also means insurgents need merely wait out the
hurricane of escalation. They can then either accept an offer to join the
Afghan government or simply reject it and shell the "infidel troops" as they
pull out. - Walid Phares (Dec 10, '09)
The day the general made a misstep
Within days of his May appointment as the United States' main man in
Afghanistan, General McChrystal and his vast team of counter-insurgency experts
"flooded the zone", making it clear to all and sundry, including the US
ambassador, as to who was calling the shots. It should have been a slam-dunk
for the general to get his way in demanding a vast surge in troops, but for one
fateful gaffe. - Mark Perry (Dec 9, '09)
'Surge' sends Obama soaring
Approval of United States President Barack Obama's handling of the war in
Afghanistan has soared since he announced a surge of 30,000 additional US
troops there, proving that Americans rally around their presidents in times of
military need. However, the numbers also suggest a fundamental misunderstanding
of a "flimsy" commitment to withdraw by mid-2011. (Dec
9, '09)
THE ROVING EYE
Hopenhagen's dirty secret
As developing countries accuse the industrialized North of trying to side-step
cuts in carbon emissions, the real winners of the Copenhagen climate summit are
emerging: Wall Street and Big Oil. While Wall Street banks will probably turn
climate change into a new commodities market, marketing it as an investment
product, Big Oil is likely to make a killing from a global carbon tax. - Pepe
Escobar (Dec 9, '09)
Nuclear rights and human rights in
Iran
The government in Iran has acted swiftly and forcibly against student protests,
mindful of the unrest that followed the contested results of June's
presidential election. There are definite costs, though, to national security
interests by this suppression of political rights at home: Iran's opponents
will be emboldened in their drive to curtail the country's nuclear rights. - Kaveh
L Afrasiabi (Dec 9, '09)
US urged to engage Sri Lanka
A United States Senate report argues that the US must engage Sri Lanka -
despite ongoing concerns over its human-rights abuses - or risk damaging
long-term strategic interests in the Indian Ocean. While the report notes that
Colombo has cultivated ties with Myanmar, Iran and Libya, it expresses greatest
concern about China's growing influence in Sri Lanka. - Jim Lobe
(Dec 9, '09)
 SUN
WUKONG
New stars in China's firmament
A reshuffle of provincial chiefs in China points towards the leadership
succession due in 2012 and heralds the rise of cadres likely to shift to the
center of power. Among them, Hu Chunhua and Sun Zhengcai have a blend of youth,
experience and support that could take them to the top. - Wu Zhong
(Dec 9, '09)
The burden of being Summers
Harvard is still counting the cost of Lawrence Summers' insistence on taking a
hands-on approach to managing its vast assets when he was the university's
president. The ability of Summers, now the top White House economic advisor, to
be on the wrong side of every question helps explain why so little has been
accomplished during the first year of this administration. - Julian
Delasantellis (Dec 9, '09)
Delhi displays multi-vector
diplomacy
Converging regional interests and expanding nuclear and defense ties have put
India-Russia relations on a positive trajectory. India is adjusting to the new
balance of global economic power and the Barack Obama administration's shifting
approach to South Asia, while both Moscow and New Delhi fear "collateral
damage" to their national security should the Afghan situation worsen. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Dec 8, '09)
Battered Pakistan turns to clerics
On Tuesday, militants struck again in Pakistan, killing at least 12 people at a
military base and bringing the number of deaths in recent attacks to about 400.
With the likelihood that spillover from Afghanistan will make the country even
more volatile, the authorities have roped in leading clerics in a bid to stop
the bloodshed. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Dec 8,
'09)
A missing F-22 and a spy satellite
White House officials are not saying why they replaced a F-22 fighter jet with
the older F-15 as the backdrop to a speech President Barack Obama gave in
Alaska. Obama was en route to Japan, where plans to sell the F-22 have been
scrapped. The incident coincided with Tokyo's unusually secretive launch of a
spy satellite, and this while China's defense minister was being given a
lecture on transparency. - Peter J Brown (Dec
8, '09)
Trouble in China's little Africa
Thousands of Africans are poring into the Chinese city of Guangzhou, seeking
cheap goods to resell back home. Media stereotypes portray many of the Africans
as untrustworthy, while police routinely harass them, making it far more
difficult for them to do business in China than for their Chinese counterparts
to work in Africa. - Kent Ewing (Dec 8, '09)
Africa warns: Money is not
enough
China's increasing presence in Africa, in terms of money and personnel, has
been portrayed by critics in the West as a form of neo-colonialism. Now leaders
within Africa are starting to suggest that the Asian giant must take a broader
view of its role in the continent. - Yitzhak Shichor
(Dec 8, '09)
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India buoyed by Bangladesh's 'gift'
After years of delays, Bangladesh has handed over to India two leaders of a
banned group that is waging a war for the sovereignty of the Indian state of
Assam. The move is expected to have an immediate effect in the resolution of a
host of problems between the countries, not least of all trade. It also gives
India the opportunity to end the decades-long insurgency in Assam. - Sudha
Ramachandran (Dec 8, '09)
INTERVIEW
Hezbollah 'more than resistance'
Sheikh Maher Hammoud is one of few senior Sunni clerics in Lebanon who sides
with Iranian-backed, Shi'ite-led Hezbollah, noting that the movement offers
something far greater than any classification of Sunni and Shi'ite. He is also
friends with the Muslim Brotherhood, "despite their dreadful mistakes". - Mahan
Abedin (Dec 8, '09)
Vietnam seeks billions for ports
overhaul
Vietnam wants international investors to help fund an up to US$56 billion
upgrade of its port system, which has failed to expand in line with the
country's increased involvement in world trade. Corruption and concerns about
the state of the local economy could weigh heavily in the minds of possible
partners. - Michael Mackey (Dec 8, '09)
 CHAN
AKYA
'Good peg' illusion
Whether a currency peg is intended to address imbalances that are external or
domestic, it will likely be the source of significant volatility, with some
effects visible and others not quite so. Ignoring the basic truths of the
"unholy trinity" will always prove detrimental in the long run to the interests
of those who wish to take undue advantage of a currency peg.
(Dec 8, '09)
 SPENGLER
Bah, humbug and
labor statistics
The latest United States jobless figures supposedly reflect an economic
recovery. Yet the continuing movement of prospective workers away from the
labor force is only part of the more revealing and worrying story. - Spengler
(Dec 7, '09)
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David P
Goldman
(Dec 9, '09)
Two-thirds of US job creation in recoveries [are] from small businesses -
[which are] in terrible shape.
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China
poses a riddle
in US backyard
The strengthening economic alliance between China and Brazil, the two giants of
the developing world, is unnerving the powers in Washington. But the South
American country has much to do, and ask of itself, if it wants to expand
beyond commodities trade to become a true strategic partner. - Peter J Brown
MARKET RAP
Take your pick
China-related stock investors have plenty to choose from in the way of mixed
messages, with the Taiwan market looking positive, Hong Kong showing signs of
short-term weakness and Shanghai struggling to break through the top of its
recent trading range.
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
The Googlenet has you
Google now merges content from social networking websites into traditional
search results pages. Less immediately annoying but more scary is Google
Goggles, which supplies instant information on photos taken by Android-based
mobile phones.
Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science,
gaming and gizmos.
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FROM THE BLOG
Small and struggling
More than 53% of small-business owners in the United States think the economy
is getting worse and the number that have experienced cash flow issues in the
past 90 days is increasing. Yet it is small businees that should be forming the
core of the recovery. - David Goldman
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
First Dubai
Dubai's debt problems, despite simplistic casting of blame on a lack of
transparency and stupid bankers, are a microcosm of global credit and economic
woes. Bubbles survive longer and grow larger than analysts often expect, but
the world has moved up the learning curve, with Dubai contributing to that
trajectory.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
(Dec 7, '09)
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Re Rupert, your
slip is showing:
"... The pablum [the Murdoch empire] feeds its reactionary audience, although
filling, is ultimately unpalatable to all sentient consumers. 'Less Rupert can
only be good for the globe' is a motto well worth subscribing to. ..." - Jim the
Moron
"... It seems to be Murdoch's way of saying, 'feed the public all of the
bull**** it is willing to pay for and I will gladly bank the pots of money'." - MonsoonWind
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From Our Mailbox
United States President Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Stockholm must
represent the nadir of US presidential rhetoric. He said words that could
easily have come from former president George W Bush's mouth, were the grammar
mangled and the smirks uncontrolled.
Hardy Campbell
Houston TX
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ATol Specials
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By Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Jan '09) |
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VIDEO
Taliban's new breed of leader
(May '08) |
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The
Gates
Inheritance
By
Roger Morris
(June '07) |
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark
Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar '06)
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China:
The
Impossible
Revolution
By
Francesco Sisci
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The Coming
Trade War
By Henry C K Liu
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A series
by Henry C K Liu
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Sinoroving
Pepe Escobar in China
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Money, Power
and
Modern Art
A series by Henry C K Liu
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Andre Gunder Frank on Uncle Sam and his
shrinking dollar
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By Pepe Escobar with
photographs by Kevin Nortz
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the US 3rd
Armored Cavalry in western Iraq
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